Miracle Mile

By Sean Axmaker

What do you do when you're given the deadline for the end of the world?
Steve De Jarnatt's insidiously clever and utterly gripping nuclear
thriller begins as a romantic lark--amiable swing trombonist Anthony
Edwards meets girl of his dreams Mare Winningham--and turns into a
nightmarish vision of society out of control. It all turns on the chance
pick-up of a ringing pay phone at 4 a.m. and a panicked voice breathlessly
warning Edwards that World War III has been launched. Genuine wake-up call
or elaborate prank? De Jarnatt plays his hand close to the chest, which
only increases the unnerving tension as word spreads like a contagion.
Future E.R. star Edwards is perfectly cast as the everyman driven
to reckless desperation and director De Jarnatt creates wonders on a small
budget. His vision of L.A.'s Miracle Mile gripped in the blind panic of a
careening traffic jam is both believable and chilling.